Despite the easy availability of background checks these days, some employers still neglect to require them or do not thoroughly analyze their results. This is evident with some recent high profile cases of prominent CEOs being “outed” for lying on their resumes.
Yahoo CEO padded resume
For instance, just last year, Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson was revealed to have “padded” his resume by bestowing upon himself a fictitious college degree. On the Yahoo bios page–a page that CEOs are required to swear is truthful–Thompson was reported to have acquired two bachelor’s degrees from Stonehill College: one in computer science and one in accounting. In actuality, he only has one in accounting.
The error was reported to be “inadvertent” but the information appeared on the company’s last annual report as well. According to CNN, the board “hired outside counsel to conduct a review of the false statement.” Patti Hart, the woman who led the search committee for the position of CEO, reportedly stepped down after her term ended.
Forbes reports most common resume lies
Though stories like these seem like they should be the exception, they actually occur more often than you might think. According to a report by Forbes, the most common things people lie about on resumes are college degrees, final GPAs, and previous salary earned. Utah’s KSL News was able to find several people (who wished to remain anonymous) who were willing to talk about their experiences with people who lied on their resumes.
Employers discover resume lies
One businesswoman shared a recent event when she hired an employee after asking specifically if she had any felonies. “She wrote straight out: ‘No felonies,'” the woman related. “And she got the job and everything. She had been working for us and was a really good employee.” However, an outright lie during an interview or on a resume cannot be ignored.
Another interviewee shared a story about a friend he knew to have dropped out of Salt Lake Community College. He told KSL News that the friend “lied on his resume and is now a working architect.”
Background checks prevent hiring mistakes
Thorough background checks and employment verifications can help employers hire only qualified applicants, thus avoiding the cost of training someone who turns out to be unable to perform the job. Don’t dismiss the importance of it, thinking applicants in general won’t lie. Forbes.com reported, “About 40 percent of people admit to having, at one time, lied on their resume.”
